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LinuxMedNews: Stallman Replies to VistA Licensing Issues

"I would like to respond to the main question in the article and
also correct a couple of mistakes in the article." "I am not a
lawyer, but I have spoken extensively with lawyers about copyright
questions. Presuming that the VistA software is in the public
domain, if you combine it with a GPL-covered program you must
release the combination *as a whole* under the GPL. Using the VistA
code in this way is allowed because public domain status permits
practically anything."

"However, the specific code that was in the public domain
remains in the public domain. In other words, the fact that person
A released the VistA code in a GPL-covered combination does not
stop person B from using the VistA code in some other way."